Sadio Mane has revealed he was encouraged by a number of his former Liverpool teammates to join them at their respective Saudi Pro League clubs.
The Reds’ former No. 10 joined Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr following a difficult season which saw him leave Bayern Munich after just 12 months.
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel admitted that Mane was “hurt” by how things had turned out at the German champions, where the Senegalese forward scored 12 goals and registered six assists in an injury-hit campaign.
Mane joined a host of high-profile names to make the switch to the Middle East this summer, including three of his former colleagues at Anfield.
Two of those players attempted to talk the 31-year-old into a reunion in Saudi Arabia, with Brazilian duo Firmino and Fabinho both said to have spoken to Mane about his options ahead of his move to Al-Nassr.
“I spoke with Firmino and I think he wanted me to come to the wrong club, I’m joking! He called two or three times to convince me to come to Al-Ahli,” Mane told TNT Sports when speaking of his former strike partner.
“At the same time, I spoke with Fabinho because he was quite close to me and he also wanted me to come to Al-Ittihad, but I chose Al-Nassr.”
Mane also said that he has received well wishes from Jordan Henderson, who joined Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq last month.
